Mogao
Caves, also called Mogao
Grottoes or the Caves of
A Thousand Buddhas, are
set into a cliff wall of
Mingsha Mountain about
25km southeast of the
oasis city in the Gobi
desert, Dunhuang. The
honeycombed caves,
enjoying a millennium
long construction from
the 4th to the 14th
centuries and marking
the height of Buddhist
art, are the world’s
richest treasure house
of Buddhist sutras,
murals and sculptures.
At its height, the cave
complex had thousands
caves. A total of 492
grottoes remain after
thousand years
vicissitude, covered
with 45,000-square-metre
fascinating murals.
There are also 2,400
painted statues and over
250 residential caves.
Almost every grotto
exhibits a group of
colorful clean-cut
paintings of Buddha and
Bodhisattvas, and other
religious paintings, or
social activities of
different dynasties. The
caves carved on the
cliff wall provide
voluminous research
materials for the study
of all aspects of the
social life, such as
religion, art, politics,
economics, military
affairs, culture,
literature, language,
music, dance,
architecture and medical
science in mediaeval
China. The splendid
culture and art
unearthed here
stimulates worldwide
interest and now a new
international subject
called Dunhuangology
forms.